San Bernardino ax slaying suspect pleads not guilty

SAN BERNARDINO >> A man suspected in a deadly knife and ax attack against his family pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder charges Tuesday morning in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Jorge Alberto Palomo, 46, has been behind bars in lieu of $2 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga since the Aug. 15 killing.

A complaint filed Tuesday by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office charged Palomo with one count of murder for allegedly killing his sister-in-law Ana Maria Ramirez, 61, and the stabbings of his wife, 49-year-old Sonia Palomo and 13-year-old son, who are not identified by name in the complaint.

The complaint also says that Palomo used an ax in the attack on Ramirez and a knife on the other victims.

San Bernardino police came to the 2300 block of North Davidson Avenue at 6:05 p.m. on a report of a stabbing and found Ramirez, Palomo’s wife and son suffering from stab wounds.

Police say Palomo may have also tried to set his house on fire or blow it up. He had two 5-gallon propane tanks inside the residence and had broken the home’s stove gas line.

Investigators say Palomo may have attacked his family because he wanted Ramirez, who had lived with the family more than 20 years, to move out.